not referring to the general resurrection, but to the First Resurrection, that one out of the dead ones, as St. Paul expresses it in the Epistle to the Philippians, which will mark "THE DAY OF THE LORD."

Again; it is the day when THe living wicked SHALL BE DESTROYED. Fearful, indeed, is the description of this characteristic of the day of the Lord recorded in Rev. xix. 11-21,-" I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a

:

loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."

Then will be fulfilled those often mis-quoted words of Isaiah lxiii. 1-6,-" Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and

thy garments like him that

treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth."

What an awful thing it will be for those who are found the enemies of Christ! Recollect, there is no third condition. All men are either the enemies of Christ or the friends of Christ. They that are not with him are against him.

But I must not wander from my point. I proceed, therefore, to remark, that the day of the Lord is the period of THE DESTRUCTION OF ANTICHRIST. St. Paul teaches us this fact, in 2 Thess. ii. 8,-" Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."

I am aware that the object which led St. Paul to write the Second Epistle, has been laid hold of by our opponents, for overturning the Premillennial theory altogether, and specially the truth to which I alluded at the commencement of the Lecture; I mean, that the great motive to holiness is the Second Advent. What! say our critics, always looking for the coming! Why, St. Paul saw the Thessalonians were doing this, and he told them shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand:" and then he tells them, that there must come a falling away first. Is not this, they ask, a positive proof that it is even dangerous thus to be looking for the Advent?

"not to be so soon

"the

To this I reply, that St. Paul, fearing lest the Thessalonians should lose sight of the Advent, tells them also that the Mystery of Iniquity doth already work, and thus leads them to see that, from that moment, very last times" had begun, and would continue until the Lord should destroy that wicked one with the brightness of his coming; and that, upon any other theory than the Premillennial coming of the Lord, the eighth verse must be inexplicable.

But again, as the day of the Lord is the time when the Man of Sin shall be put down and destroyed, so is it the time when the SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH SHALL RECEIVE THE KINGDOM PREPARED FOR THEM FROM THE

BEGINNING OF THE WORLD.

The Prophet Daniel (vii. 18) says,-"The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." And again, in the twenty-seventh verse,"The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

This is an event to which the prophets continually refer. For instance, Zechariah says,"The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." (Zech. xiv. 5.) But this fact involves another point, to which reference should be made, namely, Who are to be the subjects of this kingdom? If the saints shall reign, over whom will their power be exercised? It does not appear that all saints will have the same power. For instance, our Lord says, referring to this period," In the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne